calcifer 🧯Aug 20, 2024

I swear people don’t understand planned obsolescence. PLANNED is the key

If I stop supporting a 6-year-old version of something because I have data suggesting hardly anyone uses it anymore, that’s just garden variety obsolescence

If I plan on day one to stop support after 6 years, THAT is planned obsolescence. Same if I just make design decisions such that most of them will break before then.

If I deliberately break old things, that’s not planned obsolescence, that’s FORCED obsolescence.

Show threadFoolishOwlAug 20, 2024
@calcifer I've thought that Moore's Law was really about the CEO of Intel making a public declaration about the rate of planned obsolescence throughout the computer industry. Since Intel had an effective monopoly on key components, it was in a position to impose that rule.
Show threadFoolishOwlAug 20, 2024
@calcifer More in line with your original point, it's obvious that with mobile phones, they're deliberately designed to shorten their lifespans. They used to have replaceable batteries, removable microSDs, and operating systems that could be rooted and modified or replaced. The batteries are particularly egregious: batteries inevitably wear out.
Show threadcalcifer 🧯Aug 20, 2024
@foolishowl yes, non-user-serviceable wear parts is often a good example of planned obsolescence (sometimes there are other reasons for that choice, but 90% of the time PO is the controlling factor)
Show threadcalcifer 🧯Aug 20, 2024
@foolishowl the non-rootable OS isn’t really though; the controlling reason to avoid that is security (mostly for the benefit of the cellular providers, but also for corporate adopters). Stopping updates at a planned time is PO, as is carriers blocking old hardware.
Show threadDavid Chisnall (*Now with 50% more sarcasm!*)Aug 21, 2024

@calcifer @foolishowl It’s hard to support installing user keys in a secure way, but not impossible. A lot of Android devices require you to first connect a computer and enable debug mode, which requires the ability to unlock the phone. Then the transition to an unlocked bootloader also wipes the device, which ensures that unlocking the bootloader does not compromise any data installed on the device before it is unlocked. This process could easily be augmented with a new process for installing a new key for checking the loader.

For corporate customers, this might even be better because it would allow their IT departments to ensure everyone ran a blessed version of the firmware, rather than the vendor’s version with pre-installed crapware.

Show threadcalcifer 🧯Aug 21, 2024

@david_chisnall @foolishowl the user keys aren’t the issue; support cost is. Providers and phone makers have a relationship, and providers have a vested interest in making sure that it’s difficult for their customers to make modifications to any part of the phone that controls the interface with the cellular radios/phy/network. Moving those things to software and getting sign off from providers involves a commitment to protect that.

It’s very hard to support that commitment while leaving the hardware open to OS/firmware replacement

Show threadcalcifer 🧯

@david_chisnall @foolishowl in the case of IT departments, they already have the control they want: a blessed version, signed by a vendor, and remote controls that let them lock that. That’s a huge risk transfer for IT; no one wants to take on the support costs of having to manage every phone update, nor the risk of having BYOD with user-installed OSes of dubious origin.

I’m pro having paths to replace an OS on any device, but we can’t ignore the very real problems the current state exists to solve.

Aug 21, 2024 at 4:28pmWeb